L'Angélus (band)
Encyclopedia
L'Angélus is an American
band
composed of four (of a total of eight) siblings, Katie, Paige, Johnny, and Stephen Rees, who have performed together since they were children. They started playing together with their mother Linda, as "Linda Lou and the Lucky Four". They play a variety of genres, but in recent years have emphasized their Louisiana
roots, playing a mixture of cajun
fiddle
tunes, swing, saxophone
driven swamp pop
, and New Orleans influenced R&B. Their music has received acclaim for its muscular energy, dynamic syncopated fiddle
, and rich vocal harmonies. The siblings, now in their 20s, take turns singing lead vocals. Katie, (27) plays guitar
, Paige (26) plays bass
, Johnny, (25) is the drummer
, and Stephen (23) plays fiddle
, saxophone
, pennywhistle, and harmonica
.
, rock and roll
and Americana
crowd pleasers at hundreds of shows and receiving rave reviews across the Midwestern and South-Eastern United States.
, the group sought to re-connect with the Cajun
and New Orleans Irish
culture of their ancestors. Adopting the name L'Angélus, the group put out their first CD, "Ca C'est Bon" in 2006, a combination of their own songs, sung in French
and English
, as well as some well-known Cajun
and Western swing
tunes. The CD features eight original compositions as well as collaborations with Cajun
legends D.L. Menard
and Hadley Castille
.
In 2006 the band was selected by Billboard Magazine out of more than 1,400 artists as one of six finalists in the Independent Music World Series.
In 2008 the band published a Christmas CD "Oh Night Divine" which also includes one original composition, "A Child is Born", a musical rendition of the G.K. Chesterton poem "The Nativity". In 2009, two of their original compositions were featured in the nationwide PBS documentary on Louisiana’s Wetlands, "Washing Away", narrated by Susan Sarandon
. On May 28, 2009, the band was featured on national television on the EWTN show "Life on the Rock".
In 2009 they published a third CD, "Sacred Hymn
s Collection", which is distributed by Ignatius Press
. L'Angélus tours throughout the United States and Canada, and has since 2009 also toured in Ireland
, the United Kingdom
and Norway
.
name for the Angelus
prayer, a Catholic
prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Traditionally in Cajun
and other Catholic
cultures, people paused three times daily to pray this prayer, in the morning at 6 a.m., again at noon, and again at 6 p.m. As the band explains on their website, "Music in the Cajun
culture has always been a unifying force - it brings families together on the front porch and at the parish
dance. L’Angelus is the name of an ancient prayer that, like the music, signifies a coming together of a people. For centuries, Cajuns and their Acadian
and French
ancestors have bowed their heads to pray as a community whenever they hear the bells ring."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
composed of four (of a total of eight) siblings, Katie, Paige, Johnny, and Stephen Rees, who have performed together since they were children. They started playing together with their mother Linda, as "Linda Lou and the Lucky Four". They play a variety of genres, but in recent years have emphasized their Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
roots, playing a mixture of cajun
Cajun music
Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based, Cajun-influenced zydeco form, both of Acadiana origin...
fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
tunes, swing, saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
driven swamp pop
Swamp pop
Swamp rock is a musical genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s and early 1960s by teenaged Cajuns and black Creoles, it combines New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and traditional French...
, and New Orleans influenced R&B. Their music has received acclaim for its muscular energy, dynamic syncopated fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, and rich vocal harmonies. The siblings, now in their 20s, take turns singing lead vocals. Katie, (27) plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Paige (26) plays bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Johnny, (25) is the drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, and Stephen (23) plays fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, pennywhistle, and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
.
Beginnings
The band got their start when the children were small. Their parents, John and Linda Rees, were living in North Dakota where John was a flight instructor for the UND. Linda had been playing her guitar and singing in coffee shops when the oldest child Katie one day joined her on stage. When she was given ice-cream for her performance, the other children decided it was time they also joined in. Their father, John Rees, seeing their potential, bought them each instruments on Christmas and the band was born. In 2000, as "Linda Lou and the Lucky Four" they began to travel, playing classic popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
and Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
crowd pleasers at hundreds of shows and receiving rave reviews across the Midwestern and South-Eastern United States.
Return to Cajun roots
Moving back to their father's place of origin in LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, the group sought to re-connect with the Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
and New Orleans Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
culture of their ancestors. Adopting the name L'Angélus, the group put out their first CD, "Ca C'est Bon" in 2006, a combination of their own songs, sung in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, as well as some well-known Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
and Western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
tunes. The CD features eight original compositions as well as collaborations with Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
legends D.L. Menard
D.L. Menard
Doris Leon "D. L." Menard is one of the most important songwriters and performers in Cajun music. He has been called the "Cajun Hank Williams" because of the country-tinged sound of his voice and music.-Biography:...
and Hadley Castille
Hadley Castille
-Early life:Castille was born to a Cajun French speaking family. His father was named François Castille. He learned to play the fiddle from his Uncle Cyprien Castille at around the age of 9. After moving around for a while, he ended up in Pecaniere - a small community near Leonville, LA...
.
In 2006 the band was selected by Billboard Magazine out of more than 1,400 artists as one of six finalists in the Independent Music World Series.
In 2008 the band published a Christmas CD "Oh Night Divine" which also includes one original composition, "A Child is Born", a musical rendition of the G.K. Chesterton poem "The Nativity". In 2009, two of their original compositions were featured in the nationwide PBS documentary on Louisiana’s Wetlands, "Washing Away", narrated by Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
. On May 28, 2009, the band was featured on national television on the EWTN show "Life on the Rock".
In 2009 they published a third CD, "Sacred Hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s Collection", which is distributed by Ignatius Press
Ignatius Press
Ignatius Press, named for Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit Order, is a Catholic publishing house based in San Francisco, California, USA. It was founded in 1978 by Father Joseph Fessio SJ, a Jesuit priest and former pupil of Pope Benedict XVI...
. L'Angélus tours throughout the United States and Canada, and has since 2009 also toured in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
About the name L'Angélus
L'Angélus is the FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
name for the Angelus
Angelus
The Angelus is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. The name Angelus is derived from the opening words: Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ The Angelus (Latin for "angel") is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. The name Angelus is derived from the opening words: Angelus...
prayer, a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Traditionally in Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
and other Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
cultures, people paused three times daily to pray this prayer, in the morning at 6 a.m., again at noon, and again at 6 p.m. As the band explains on their website, "Music in the Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
culture has always been a unifying force - it brings families together on the front porch and at the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
dance. L’Angelus is the name of an ancient prayer that, like the music, signifies a coming together of a people. For centuries, Cajuns and their Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
ancestors have bowed their heads to pray as a community whenever they hear the bells ring."